Day 3 - Catherine A. Lugg

Though violence is not lawful, when it is offered in self-defense or for the defense of the defenseless, it is an act of bravery far better than cowardly submission. - M.K. Gandhi

I write as a daughter of a WWII veteran; the niece of a WWII veteran; the niece of a Korean War veteran; the granddaughter of a WWI veteran; and the sister and cousin of military men who served in peace time and during the Iraq War (1991). In each case, there were prices to be paid by each family member, though I was lucky in that they all survived. But each man had lasting health issues, particularly my late father. Even though he never saw combat, he survived a nearly lethal infection contracted during gunnery school and was disabled from then on.

As such, I am ambivalent about the uses of both violence and non-violence for political change. Non-violent political action is incredibly effective when a nation-state makes noises about being supposedly democratic and adheres to the rule of law—but fails at both. But if the state is committed to enacting violence against its own peoples and other nation/states and makes no pretensions of being concerned with the rule of law, well, strategic violence in the form of subversion is legitimate (the current state of the USA). I say this as someone who has lived for decades when violence has been routinely deployed against Trans/Queer people in the USA. 

So, I am fine with activists ensuring the sidewalks and roads in Minneapolis are suitably icy to stop ICE and Homeland Security from harming residents. It’s not “non-violence” per se (agents will fall, and some will be injured), but given the outrageous violence aimed and all who object to the regime, it is strategic subversion. We also need to address the violence involving the Arendtian “Desk Murderers” like Adolf Eichmann. Their bureaucratic actions lead to very real harm to human beings. They are even more frightening than their eager and thuggish lackeys. 

I do hope for peace, but I am a citizen of a slave-holding empire that is soaked in blood. I will do what I can for a more just world, and work with like-minded colleagues, but I am painfully cognizant of the odds we face.